Wendy Fisher murder trial: brothers from other mothers and a car-for-crack trade (photos)

MOBILE, Alabama – On a day full of conflicting details and hours-long video interviews, the most shocking detail to come out of day three of the trial of Trayon Washington and Pat Brown is that the two men charged with murder in the death of Wendy Fisher are actually related.

During interrogation video shown in Circuit Court Judge Michael Youngpeter’s courtroom on Wednesday, it was revealed that Washington and Brown share the same father. The two half-brothers face felony murder charges related to Fisher’s slaying on July 7, 2012, in front of her house on Racine Avenue in west Mobile.

During the interviews, Washington and Brown underwent questioning by detectives Donald Pears and Charles Bagsby, among others, about events before and after that Saturday afternoon. The popular downtown bartender and artist was shot at about 6:20 p.m. while trying to keep her dogs out of the street and the path of the car the men were allegedly traveling in.

Prosecutors say Washington shot Fisher and Brown was the driver of the Nissan Altima they were in.

During the taped questioning, which drew on through the night of July 10 and into July 11, both men denied being in the vehicle at the time of the homicide, although both admitted being both a driver and passenger of the car in the days surrounding the killing.

Defense attorneys Jason Darley and Art Powell, representing Brown and Washington, respectively, asked during cross-examination if it was a common practice during questioning for suspects to initially distance themselves from the situation they’re being asked about.

Both Pears and Bagsby agreed it was, although of Washington, Pears said, “Just about everything he was saying was a lie.”

To help prove Washington and Brown were in the vicinity of the Racine Avenue crime scene at the time of Fisher’s death, Wednesday’s proceeding concluded with the first half of testimony from Mobile Police Detective Mac. R. “Rusty” Hardeman, an expert in triangulating cell-phone use.

Using maps, he told the jury that the phone numbers associated with the defendants used cell towers near Shelton Beach Road – close to a Taco Bell restaurant the defendants reportedly were going to before Fisher’s death – and behind the former Greer’s grocery store at Moffett Overlook roads, less than a mile from Racine Avenue. Those towers were used around the time of the homicide, Hardeman said.

Early testimony on Wednesday included that of Jeannie Nicholas, who was the registered owner of the Nissan prosecutors say held the defendants. She testified to trading use of her car to Washington in exchange for a small amount of crack cocaine.

Hardeman will resume his testimony on Thursday in the trial, which is expected to continue until at least Friday. Once the state rests, the defense is expected to call several witnesses, as well.

AL.com will follow this trial until its conclusion and will have updates as soon as they are available.